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| Name: |
Sparky
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Age: |
Four and a half years old
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| Gender: |
Male
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Kind: |
Vietnamese Pot-bellied Pig
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| Home: |
Oceanside, California, USA
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Our
adult son always had a fascination with pigs. He suspects that may
be because he has survived since less than three years of age by taking
daily injections of PORK insulin. Swine are extremely close to humans
genetically, with almost identical endocrine, digestive and other
systems, making their insulin the closest match to humans. (Our son was
one of the last converts to the new lab-made human insulin.) So one
Christmas Eve we picked Sparky up from a farm just outside San Diego. At
that time, he was just a little ball that could sit on my arm between my
elbow and my wrist. We managed to hide him -- and his squeals -- that
night; he was handed to our son the next morning inside a large
Christmas stocking.
We knew pigs were said to be the third most intelligent species, after
humans and apes; but we were shocked at just how smart Sparky is. He was
kitty-box trained in two days, and he acted modest about being watched
in the box! (He was easily leash trained for necessary walks when he got
too large for any box.) He learned things like managing the two flights
of stairs in our condo by clearly using a method of trial & error,
followed by an analysis of the situation, then by trying again. He
attached himself to us emotionally, albeit narcissistically, right away.
I gained more understanding of the factors involved in learning and
cognition by watching him than I had in all my related graduate courses.
Being around as his language skills developed, I found that the pitch,
volume, length and tone of each grunt and higher-pitched 'whine' clearly
has a specific meaning. We were told Sparky would reach 60 to 70
pounds; he passed that in four months! At one year of age we saw others
from his litter; they were bigger than expected, but much smaller than
Sparky. He just somehow got the 'big' gene! Well, my parents didn't
throw my brother out because he passed 6'5", and Sparky was just another
member of the family when he passed 150 pounds. (I've just not bothered
to find out how much he really weighs for the last 3+ years!) He is now
living where he has a large grassy yard to wander around, although he
piggishly sleeps about 70% of the time. He is nearly blind because of
excess growth around his eyes; surgery did not do much to correct the
problem. We can't help but laugh a little when he bumps into things;
luckily he has the thick pig skin and snout. We just pat him on the head
for encouragement and make sounds to guide him.
He's quite a conversation piece in our newly developed, average,
middle-class suburban neighborhood, as you would suspect. To my
surprise, the first question we are always asked is what he eats! Most
people just haven't noticed that your neighborhood PetSMart and any
farm/feed store carries $7.00, 20 pound bags of pot-bellied pig pellet
food; he just eats about two cups a day, making him much cheaper to feed
than a dog or cat. I always add the more interesting facts like that
pigs are so closely related to humans, and that they are the only
animals other than humans that sunburn, etc. Being an animal of prey -
and blind - he is naturally wary of strangers, so we can't let others in
the yard unless we keep a close eye on him. But he loves to get
attention from us; he 'speaks' to us constantly, clearly believing we
understand every sound (word?) he makes. He's like a permanent two-year
old... narcissistic but loving. I really feel that having him helped me
regain the patience and understanding I needed when my young
granddaughter moved in!
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